The present invention relates to a wire gripper eyelet mountable in a circuit board such that electrical leads may be inserted into the eyelet and gripped therein to complete mechanical connection of the lead to a conductive portion of the circuit board. More permanent securement of the inserted lead may be accomplished by filling the eyelet and circuit pad with solder.
The present invention is specifically an improvement over prior art wire-gripping eyelets, such as those described and claimed in the above cross-referenced patents.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved wire-gripping eyelet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved wire-gripping eyelet adapted for securement in the hole of a circuit board by insertion of the eyelet into the hole from only one side of the circuit board.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved wire-gripping eyelet formed from relatively thin sheet metal stock which, during forming thereof, is provided with a unique reinforcing structure providing structural strength to the finished eyelet without substantially reducing the orifice into which an electrical lead is to be inserted.
Still further, it is an object of this invention to provide a wire gripping eyelet which increases gripping force on a lead when an attempt is made to withdraw the lead.
Additionally, it is an object of the invention to insure proper gripping of a lead entering the eyelet at an angle to the central axis thereof.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention and will become more readily apparent from the following description.
The eyelet is particularly suited to be secured to a circuit board substrate or the like by insertion into a hole of the circuit board and includes a head portion and suitable means for receiving and gripping one or more electrical leads such that mechanical connection of the leads to a conductive track of the circuit board is attained. A major advantage over prior art wire-gripping eyelets is achieved by the structure of the instant invention, namely, that the eyelets are insertable into circuit board holes from only one side of the circuit board and are provided with a snap-fit therein for securement to the circuit board without the need for staking or the like from the other side of the circuit board.
In one embodiment, the particular means for providing the snap-fit also provides a wire-gripping function by a unique structural arrangement of resilient legs depending from a head portion, wherein the resilient legs have keeper portions which, after passing through the circuit board, spring out to a locking position. The gripper portions of the legs are arranged such that they converge toward the central axis of the hole from the keeper portions thereof to resiliently receive the electrical leads from one direction and to grip and prevent extraction of the leads from the other direction.